HISTORY OF MALTA.

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upon to send necessary relief. Omedes, however, when it was too late,induced Gabriel D’Aramont, the French ambassador at Constanti-nople, to dissuade the Turkish generals from attempting the siege ofTripoli: but on reaching their army he found it already begun;and he was not only unable to prevail with them in any respect,but they contrived to detain him among them, on different pre-tences.

Scarcely had the enemy’s batteries begun to fire upon the fort,when the Spanish and Calabrian troops sent thither by the viceroyof Naples and Sicily, being but just levied, and unaccustomed tostand fire, began to mutiny; and, what is very astonishing, theywere encouraged in their insurrection by two or three Spanishknights, particularly by one named Errera, who acted as treasurer.The marshal of the order, Yallier, of the language of Auvergne,was commandant of Tripoli. Fie was universally esteemed a braveman; and made use of every effort in his power to quell the sedi-tion. Fie was supported by all the other knights, except thosealready mentioned; but their exertions were fruitless—neitherthreats nor entreaties were of any avail: so that at last the marshal,perceiving the dignity of commandant no longer existed, and thatobedience was out of the question, found himself obliged to enterinto a capitulation; the articles of which, however, were nevercarried into execution. The Spanish and Calabrian rebels, con-vinced that their liberty was specified in the capitulation, went tomeet the conqueror, who stripped them of their possessions, loadedthem with chains, and reduced them to a state of abject slavery.

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